"This is the first time in neuro-prosthetics that sensory feedback has been restored and used by an amputee in real-time to control an artificial limb," said Dr Silvestro Micera, from the Federal Polytechnique School of Lausanne in Switzerland.

The results of the Lifehand 2 project have been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Scientists believe the artificial limb represents the first step towards a true bionic hand which could feel and move.